Opinion / Columnist
Zimbabweans don't know why we need a government
27 Apr 2017 at 09:15hrs | Views
I think as Zimbabweans we have a big problem. Our problem is that we just don't want to know why we need a government be it central or local government. We think that putting someone into government or representative position is just an honour given to the most vocal or lavish of those in our community.
Having done that, we are very good at taking it to be our own problem the very same responsibilities that these people we elected should be doing.
This morning after going for five days without water at home in Gwanda, I found myself going all out to get a quotation to drill a borehole at our plot which has a river running through it. I was also carrying a list of things to buy to revive an old Blair Latrine at the plot some 350 metres away from the main house.
As I walked by I saw some five ladies buying 20 litre empty containers from a street vendor who has obviously found business in selling the containers. By the way it is now normal that some places in Gwanda can go without water for up to two weeks or a month.
This got me thinking and I quickly destroyed the quotation and little paper I was carrying. Why should we the citizens suffer scavenging for a service which is due to us and we have people we elected to make sure that the service is provided to us?
I think we Zimbabweans are just too good. When government decides to fail to provide us with electricity, we ALL buy generators and solar panels. When they decide not to provide us with jobs we all wake up selling airtime in the morning. When they decide not to give us water we drill boreholes.
Questions are; until when should we be doing things ourselves which our government should be doing with an excuse that they have no money while corruption squanders 90% of our revenue? What precedence and lesson are we giving to our children?
Its sad that we have agreed to completely lose confidence in what a government should be yet when the time comes to set up that government we are frog marched to retain the same failures and we go back to scavenging for services and survival.
When are we going to decide once and for all to get tired of mediocrity and demand our rights as a citizenry? How do people sit in office and claim to be working for us when nearly 60 000 people in Gwanda have to wake up every morning to search for water because two bulls decide to fight over the little money the residents pay for the water?
We can do better than what we are doing now.
Having done that, we are very good at taking it to be our own problem the very same responsibilities that these people we elected should be doing.
This morning after going for five days without water at home in Gwanda, I found myself going all out to get a quotation to drill a borehole at our plot which has a river running through it. I was also carrying a list of things to buy to revive an old Blair Latrine at the plot some 350 metres away from the main house.
As I walked by I saw some five ladies buying 20 litre empty containers from a street vendor who has obviously found business in selling the containers. By the way it is now normal that some places in Gwanda can go without water for up to two weeks or a month.
This got me thinking and I quickly destroyed the quotation and little paper I was carrying. Why should we the citizens suffer scavenging for a service which is due to us and we have people we elected to make sure that the service is provided to us?
Questions are; until when should we be doing things ourselves which our government should be doing with an excuse that they have no money while corruption squanders 90% of our revenue? What precedence and lesson are we giving to our children?
Its sad that we have agreed to completely lose confidence in what a government should be yet when the time comes to set up that government we are frog marched to retain the same failures and we go back to scavenging for services and survival.
When are we going to decide once and for all to get tired of mediocrity and demand our rights as a citizenry? How do people sit in office and claim to be working for us when nearly 60 000 people in Gwanda have to wake up every morning to search for water because two bulls decide to fight over the little money the residents pay for the water?
We can do better than what we are doing now.
Source - Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo
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